Chain link



H. ST. PIERRE CHAIN LINK" Aug, 19, 1947.

- Filed May 18, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. BIZ/ENE) JZP/ikkf Aug. 19, 1947. H. s5". PIERRE 2,426,067 Q CHAIN LINK Filed May 18, 1944 2 S heetsSheet 2 INVENTOR. flz/vky 57 55mm? Patented Aug. 19, 194-7 UN 1 T E D STAT ES E NT @F F CHAIN LINIQ Henry S a-Pierre, Worcester, Mass:

Appiicatibn'Mayflfi; 1944; serial'No. 536,085

6 Clain'is.

g I l Thisinvention is directed to an" improved methodfor making chain;

Objects of the invention-include the provision of animproved joiner chain link which is made by forging a blank'in dies, said blank being formed with a depression extending almost but not quite through the blank in a side edge thereof, and then cutting or breaking the blank in the region of the depression so that the blank may be separated either by twisting or bending to form an open joiner link which may be assembled with solid links. Then the link is welded-the depression forming a means for receiving welding metal pouiot-d or melted thereinto, and fusing the ends to finish the link. Thereafter the above described joiner link may be'forged or restruck in di'esin order to refine the weld, and to shape the link to the final form desired. Also the chain when welded may be heat treated to further improve the characteristics of the metal.

Further objects of the invention include the provision of a joiner link and method of making chain as above described in which the depression is formed in a stud link blank in a side run of the blank in the region of the stud; and the provision of a joiner link and method of making chain as above recited in which the depression is formed in a region of the joiner blank removed from the central part thereof, or from the stud area, so that each link may be assembled with but one link instead of two so that all links in the chain are the same rather than having solid links alternating with joiner links.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan View of a forged joiner link blank;

Fig. 2 is an edge View of the blank of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 illustrates one method of opening the blank for reception of another link;

Fig. 4 illustrates a different method of opening the blank;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modified blank link;

Fig. 6 is an edge view of the link of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an edge view illustrating one method of opening the blank; and

Fig. 8 is a view illustrating a different method of opening the blank.

In order to make the joiner link shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, I provide dies for forging out the blank of Fig. 1. This blank includes a solid side In and an opposite solid side l2, the link blank having ends l4 and I6 and in some 2 cases it willbedesirable to havefa stud l t rtaning a pair of eyes wand 22'. As-tliu'sdes'oribed the blank is asolid link; but in addition-to' tlie" above I provide a forged depressiomwhich ma'y assume any shape desired but is he'reslio'wn" as" substantially circular, see-M inFig; 13 This" de pression may or may not extend coinplet'ely' through the link'but it is preferred that itshbiild terminate just short ofone edge of the link asis clearly illustrated attt in'FigLQ thuspro'yidin'g, abottom-QB; see Figzlz- The sides of tll'e depres sion 2 l= will be tapered as at'28 inl ig: 2tojpr ide for thedrawnecessary in forming} I If" it is desired-to have the depression 2Q eXt'end'all-the way through the blank this can bedone iri'th'e forging operation or the bottom 26* canbe" punched out afterwards;

In'any case'the nextstep-indh'e processpf making the chain consists of breaking the link or cutting it so as to separate the blank in the region of the depression to form a pair of ends It is not particularly desired to remove any material in this operation but this may be done if the link is ground ofi or sawed. The breaking of the link results in the formation of the ends 35 and 32 as described and renders the depression 2'6 into two separate parts as at 34, 36.

As shown in Fig. 2 the end l4 may be bent to separate end 32 from the end 36 and a similar link 38 is then inserted whereupon the end I4 is repositioned in its original location and the depressions 34 and 36 will then combine to substantially reproduce a single depression 24. When this has been done it is clear that a relatively simple welding operation only is necessary to weld up the depression at a heat sufficient to fuse the two ends together not only at the depression but also in the bottom 26 and at the side edges of the depression, as indicated at 40, so that the link becomes completely fused into a unitary joiner link.

In this form of the invention it is necessary that all links of the chain shall be the same inasmuch as the assembly takes place link by link, that is link 38 is inserted over the end [4 in Fig. 3 and the link 38 in turn being the same as the joiner link disclosed will be opened up and a third similar link inserted therein.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a difierent method of opening the link in which end I4 is twisted away from the end 30 instead of being bent as in Fig. 3. However, in any case, the joiner link itself and the method of making chain is substantially the same.

In Fig. 5 I disclose a modified form of the in-- vention in which there is a depression 42 and a bottom 44 therefor, as before, which are located however, centrally of the link at an end of the stud 18. In this case also the depression may be of any desired form but is shown for purposes of illustration as being circular and it is also enlarged over the depression shown in Fig. 1 because of the fact that there is an additional amount of material at this point in the link.

The method of making the chain is substantially the same as that above described except that in this case the welding step will also weld the stud at the same time, and that two solid links 46 may be assembled at once. The ends 48 formed by breaking the link may be twisted apart as shown in Fig. 7 or may be bent as shown in Fig. 8. However, it is to be particularly noted that depression 42 forms a part of the stud as is illustrated at 50.

In all forms of the invention the links may be coined and forged in dies, and allowed to cool, to make them conform to the shape desired as well as refining the weld and normalizing, and furthermore the chain may be heat treated to improve the characteristics of the metal.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. Method of making chain comprising the steps of forming a blank in the shape of a link, forming a depression in a portion of the blank, splitting the blank at the depression, thus providing two ends, inserting at least one solid link, and welding the ends by filling the depression with molten metal.

2. Method as recited in claim 1 wherein the blank has a stud and the depression is located 4 in a side of the blank at an end of the stud, and including welding the stud to the said ends.

3. Method of making chain comprising the steps of forming a blank in the general form of a link, making a depression in a side run thereof, breaking the blank at the depression to form ends each having a part of the depression therein, separating the ends, inserting a link, closing the ends, and depositing molten metal in the depression.

4. Method of claim 3 including the provision of a stud and breaking the link so as to separate the stud from the ends.

5. Method of making chain comprising the steps of forming a link blank, making a depression therein in a manner to leave a bottom portion, splitting the link at the depression so as to leave a part of the bottom on each end formed by the splitting operation, inserting a link over one arm, and welding the arms together by deposition of welding metal in the depression.

6. Method of claim 5 including the provision of a stud and locating the depression at an end of the stud, the splitting operation separating the stud from the two ends, the splitting operation also leaving a part of the bottom on the stud.

HENRY s'r. PIERRE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,256,117 Duncan Feb. 12, 1918 1,938,056 Taylor Dec. 5, 1933 1,256,118 Duncan Feb. 12, 1918 2,359,535 Staats Oct. 3, 1944 

